As used herein, ceramic greenware, or greenware, refers to bodies comprised of ceramic-forming components that form ceramic bodies when fired at high temperature. The greenware may include ceramic components such as a mixture of various ceramic-forming components and a ceramic component. The various components can be mixed together with a liquid vehicle, such as water, and extruded with a formed shape such as a honeycomb structure. Immediately after extrusion, the greenware contains some water, and typically at least some of the water must be removed and the greenware must be dried prior to firing at high temperature, which forms a refractory material.
In certain instances, the greenware is sometimes not evenly dried. This is particularly true in certain two-step drying process wherein the first drying step causes some drying unevenness and the second step cannot compensate for this unevenness. Uneven drying leads to production losses. There is therefore a need for systems and methods to accomplish uniform (even) drying of extruded ceramic greenware.